From ancient times, the Templars have the right to choose their own Master by the votes of the majority.

A Majority of the most senior Grand Priors have called for this election legitimizing our right to finally choose our own Master of the Order.

By its very definition, a “Regent” is the temporary leader of the OSMTJ until a Master of the Order can be elected. The current OSMTJ Rules requires a Regent to hold an election to select a new master within 6 months after a master leaves office. Nicolas has held the position of Regent for about 22 years and has never taken a step to select a Master of the Order. We are the only branch of Templarism that does not have a master. Consequently the senior Grand Priors of the Order are taking this action to select a Master for the Order.

Every Grand Prior has the right to be a candidate for Master by emailing: info @ OSMTJ . net

Every Grand Prior may vote for the candidate of their choice by emailing: info @ OSMTJ . net

RESULTS

Candidates / Votes

Regent Nicholas Hastier – Age 91 – 5 Votes

Nicolas was a physician as well as a consultant to the American Administration. He taught in various universities in France and for 12 years he taught at New York Medical College (Paramus, New Jersey) He was a District Governor of Rotary in France as well as volunteering for other humanitarian organizations. 

Votes for Dr. Nicholas:

Vladimirs Kovalevskis – Grand Prior Latvia

Marco Ponzalino – Grand Prior of Italy

Thomas Kohwagner – Grand Prior Germany

Robert Erent – Croatia

Grand Prior of Austria, General Ronald Mangum – Age – 73 – 19 Votes

General Mangum is currently Deputy Regent of the OSMTJ and the “Legal Adviser” on the OSMTJ Magisterial Council, a retired American General, an Attorney, a College Professor. Learn more about the Grand Prior of Austria here.

Votes for General Mangum:

General Ronald Mangum – Grand Prior Austria

T. Bryant Jones – Grand Prior USA

Teimuraz Toumanishvili – Grand Prior of Geogia

Godfrey Fowler – Grand Prior England and Wales

Keven Ellis – Grand Prior Canada

Alex Levin – Grand Prior of Israel

Jeong Gustavo – Grand Prior Argentina

Jean-louis Lams – Grand Prior of Belgium

Elisabeth Steen Overland – Grand Prior of Norway

Slobodan Traparic – Grand Prior of Serbia

 Rodulfo Gautier Portuondo – Grand Prior Puerto Rico

Michel Tarlowski  – Grand Prior of Romania

Guillaume Brunschwig – Grand Prior of Switzerland

Gilmar Camargo – Grand Prior of Brazil

Jose Santos Gamarra Soto – Grand Prior of Peru

Colonel Kaloyan Statkov – Grand Prior of Bulgaria

 Javier Morones Quintero – Grand Prior of Mexico

Edgar Mazon – Grand Prior of Ecuador

Dr. Juan Antonio Cabezos Martínez – Grand Prior of Spain

Who’s Eligible To Vote?

Only those 24 Grand Priors who were listed here on the official OSMTJ website at the time of our election were eligible to vote. Commanders like the leader of Cameroon who have not yet been elevated to Grand Priors, do not have a vote.

When Is This Election Over?

When one candidate reaches the majority votes of 13 Grand Priors out of 24 total Grand Priors, this election is over and a new Master of the Order is elected. There is no requirement that everyone votes as we understand that some Grand Priors won’t vote in protest. Therefore we will give Nicholas the benefit of the doubt and the vote for every nation that doesn’t email their vote will be automatically awarded to Nicholas.

We went to great effort to make this election fair & simple

We made great effort to conduct a fair election with clear and simple rules. All Grand Priors were notified of this election, and each Grand Prior’s vote is listed publicly for all to verify. Every Grand Prior had the free-will to make their own choice or change their mind if they desired to. Despite this, it’s likely the losing side will call it “illegitimate” just as they do in the Banana Republics where the loser always contests the elections no matter how fairly it’s conducted.

In 2018, the then Grand
Secretary, Daithi O’Briain, asked and received permission from Nicholas
to finally have an election in 2018.  We were elated that after 22 years
of a temporary “Regent,” we would finally have a fairly elected Master
of the Order.  Nicholas set this election first for July, then notified us that he had pushed it back to August. Following this we received an email
from Nicolas saying he moved the election to September. Lastly, he informed us that he pushed it back to the “end of the year.”   You can see where this was going, Nicholas, aware that he wasn’t going to win the election, had no intention of ever holding one. This is why the majority of the senior Grand Priors exerted their legitimate right to choose their own Master of the OSMTJ Order by election, as it has been done since ancient times.

Let’s remember that we serve the good of the Order first above any particular leader so that we can move forward form any drama and work together to make our Order even greater!

May God bless you and keep you!

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Post Election Addendum:

THE ELECTION OF MASTER GEN. RONALD MANGUM

Appendix A: Reasons for the Election

PROLOGUE

To the blessed and honorable Knights Templar of OSMTJ,

In recent events, we have had the good fortune of securing the election of a Master of the Order for the first time in over two decades. Despite this great milestone, there has been no small degree of dissatisfaction among those who did not find the election results in there favor. The purpose of this document is to address the central issues of their complaint with the great and sincere hope that differences may be put aside and the unity of this great Order may be retained.

Let it be made clear that those with whom we have present contention are regarded here as brothers with whom we have misunderstanding or disagreement. Regarded as brothers, for that is what we have been, until a few short weeks ago. True Christian charity is not dissuaded by disagreement, but rather is tested by it. The Lord having allowed this to occur, we must take to heart that which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Simon Peter, saying, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31). Therefore, we are thankful to God, our Father, who has desired to strengthen us through this sifting. Strengthen us, O Lord.

Let it be clear that we continue to hold the highest respect for the service of our long-time caretaker, the honorable Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier. This present contention can in no way sully all of those gracious years that he was offered us in willing service. We understand that some of the accusations of conspiracy against us and implications of malicious intent come from a place of hurt feelings and disappointment, and we eagerly extend forgiveness to any who might repent of such, for we know division is not of God, and that Satan is the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 4:10).

What will be presented will be a set of facts, the purpose being to set minds at ease, to provide rationale for decisions, and answer the concerns of those who dissent.

It is right and just for a Christian brotherhood to answer the concerns of their brothers with whom they have disagreement. It is the entirely proper for those who lead to give an open ear to those whom they ask to follow. This is given with the understanding that no lawful government can exist without the willing consent of the governed – and this reveals one of the essential issues at hand: Who do those being governed within the ranks of the Templars give their consent to lead them as Master of the Order?

We sincerely hope this document will assist in clarifying this issue, to restore unity and peace within us, for it is written that we must “be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3).

ADDRESSING THE CORE COMPLAINTS

There are two main complaints given by the dissenters, with several sub-points. They are as follows:

1. The election was initiated outside of expected protocol.
2. The election is invalid due to the way it was actually conducted.

• Not all of the Grand Priors voted
• No other candidates were offered

Addressing Complaint #1 – The election was initated outside of expected protocol.

The primary mission of the Regent is to guide the Order through the transitional period after the departure of a Grandmaster until the election of the next Grandmaster. As such, by very definition, the position of Regent is a temporary one. With that in mind, here are some facts regarding the Regency of Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier:

• The Regent leads and guides the Order for the duration of time between elections.
• The rules of the Order state that a Regent must conduct an election within six (6) months of the departure of the former Grand Master.¹
• Therefore, the duration of a given Regency should persist for no longer than six (6) months.
• This election was conducted after 22 years of not holding an election. Without exaggeration, such a span of time should have been ample and abundant for any Regent, who was willing and able, to hold an election.

So perhaps at this point, it would be conceded that an election ought to be held. Indeed, in 2018, then Grand Secretary, Daithi O’Briain, asked and received permission from Regent Nicolas to finally have an election in 2018. In response, dates were set.

• First, the Regent promised an election on July 18^th of 2018.
• This was then changed to August 18^th of 2018.
• This was then changed again to September 18^th of 2018.
• The year of 2018 ended without an election, and indeed, the entire next year of 2019 also passed without an election, despite continued efforts to secure one.

At this juncture, it became apparent to the majority of the Grand Priors that the Regent mayhap did not intend to hold elections at all. Perhaps 22 years at the lead of the Order was not mere happenstance. Although the Regent successfully acted as Caretaker of the Order for all of those years, he failed to achieve his primary objective as Regent: to hold an election.

Some of that failure might be attributed to the fact that in 1995, the Regent instituted additional rules and criteria that must be met before an election can be held. These rules made meeting the standards necessary to hold an election so high that no election was held in those 22 years. A few facts must be mentioned about the institution of these rules:

• There was no vote performed to approve these rules.
• There is no document that gives the Regent the powers to implement such rules.
• The Regent himself is an unelected official.
• An unelected official does not have the power to implement rules that would essentially allow himself to hold power indefinitely without an election.

In the Regent’s official response letter to this election, he states, “Article 9 on the “Regulations” of the OSMTJ, corrected, adapted and send to all of you during the year 2019 precises the conditions for elections (death, resignation, long absence of Regent/Master).”

Here we see, as evidenced by the articles he cited that he likely intended to remain Regent until his death. Nevertheless, the inability to hold an election as the primary objective of Regent after 22 years (rather than 6 months), can easily be understood as meeting the third criteria of article 9, “long absence of Regent.”

In response to such a long absence of not fufilling his central duty, the Grand Priors of OSMTJ opted to proceed by the usage of the ancient and legitimate process of election given at the restoration of our Order in 1705.

This process is allows for:

• Any Grand Prior to offer himself as a candidate for Grandmaster.
• Each Grand Prior has one (1) vote.
• The candidate that has gained the absolute majority (13 of 24) of the votes is proclaimed Grandmaster.

After exercising their rights to be governed by their own consent, the majority of the Grand Priors of the OSMTJ voted for Gen. Ronald Mangum, Grand Prior of Austria to hold the position of Master of the Order.

Addressing Complaint #2 – The election is invalid due to the way it was actually conducted.

The first complaint in the conduct of the election is that not all the Grand Priors voted that were eligble to. This is, in fact, true.

However, they did not vote for lack of knowledge. Every single Grand Prior of the OSMTJ was personally e-mailed regarding the election with clear direction on how to participate.² The simple fact is, those who did not vote, did not vote out of their own free will.

One will notice though, that those that did not vote originate from only one side of the election: Those who support Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier in the election. It is unknown why this is the case. It may be to attempt to de-legitimize an election, an excuse to cry foul on an election they knew they were unlikely to win. Indeed, the protests which this document addresses were only initated after Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier lost the election.

Nevertheless, in an attempt for all sides to be heard, any vote that was not cast was simply given gratis to Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier. Therefore:

• All 24 Grand Priors had the opportunity to vote.
• Of the votes that were not cast, they were given to Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier.
• Conclusion: All 24 Grand Priories were counted. (18 Mangum – 6 Hastier).

Lastly, it is also contended that no other candidates were offered. This is simply not the case. The election page on the OSMTJ website openly states that any Grand Prior is eligible to be a candidate for Grandmaster.

Conclusions

• This election was held in a fair and open way using the ancient rules when it was clear the Regent would not hold elections.
• All Grand Priors had the opportunity to vote.
• All Grand Priories were counted, even by the giving of gratis votes.
• Even if all contentions about the conduct of this election were granted to the dissenters, it would not change the outcome of the election, as the numbers in favor of Gen. Mangum are too great to overcome.
• It is the right of those governed to choose who shall lead them, and the majority of the Grand Priors have chosen Gen. Ronald Mangum.

So in answer to that essential question which was preposed at the beginning of this treatise, Who do those being governed within the ranks of the Templars give their consent to lead them as Master of the Order?

H.E., Master of the Order, General Ronald Mangum

A CONTRAST OF VISIONS

It is appropriate and relevant to note to the honorable company of Templars in the OSMTJ that the two candidates for Master of the Order hold competing and contradictory views on the essential nature of the Order.

Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier has indicated that he views the OSMTJ as a secular order, defined by no inherent conflict with religion, but also without any particular religious association.³ For many, this will be surprising that the one who stood as Caretaker and Guardian of the Templar Faith would, in fact, undermine that Faith by asserting none at all. For many, this will also be disappointing, as the Knights Templar were the historical protectors of pilgrims and attacks against Christendom in the Holy Land, but today we might cast off that legacy, and hollow ourselves out by merely accepting the existence of religion by some within our ranks.

However, Gen. Ronald Mangum, with an alternative vision, is proud to uphold our Christian heritage and legacy – understanding that the power that has enabled our greatness over the centuries is our Christian identity: A love for God, and a love for our brothers, as defined by the teachings of Jesus Christ.

For those who would desire to uphold the name of Christ as a banner to the Nations, for the salvation of men, then come under the leadership of a man who shares your convictions, and seeks to maintain the very reason why you sought to join our noble ranks.

The Templar may become the greatest among Christians, and the Christian may become the greatest among Men, and Men may be the greatest of all of God’s creations. Yet this is only possible in the power and ability that God gives to the faithful in Jesus Christ.

Epilogue

It is likely that for some this treatise will not be sufficient, and further objections will be raised. Additionally, retorts will be made to the facts listed here. However, beyond this document, we have no appetite to continue with fruitless argumentation. A call for reconciliation has been made, but if none may be had, it is within the rights of the dissenters to forge their own path. However, this assuredly is not the will of God of Jesus Christ.

The carnal and fleshly nature is the source of all quarreling. Is it not written, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1) and, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: … hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy” (Gal. 5:19).

Let the Spirit of God guide those who would call themselves Templars. Let these works of the flesh not be named among us. Pray for unity.

May God Bless the OSMTJ.

Non nobis, Domine, non nobis; sed nomine tuo da gloriam.
Attachments area

Appendix A: Additional Documentary Illustrations

Article 9, from our Order’s Rules and Regulations of the OSMTJ Order (pictured above) stipulating that the Regent has just 6 months from the time the last Master vacates office to hold a new Master election. Our Regent (Regent = the temporary un-elected head of the Order) missed that deadline by years.

The first decree by the newly elected Master of the Order, General Mangum, was that we were once again a Christian Order, as we were intended to be at our founding in 1118.

Appendix C:

We sent out the email with instructions how to vote to all 24 Grand Priors and this follow up email from a different email address (some said the 1st email went to spam) as you can see below. This election was open for 4 days from December 30th, 2019 – January 2nd, 2020: